A touch controller is used to control a touch panel. The touch panel has an array of sensor cells divided in to N columns, each column has M regions, M regions are grouped into P zones. The touch controller has a switch circuit and a sensing circuit. In a coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorts the sensor cells in each zone of each column, and the sensing circuits scans P×N zones of the N columns to generate P×N zone signals. In M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in a triggered zone of the P×N zones, and the sensing circuit scans a region of the triggered zone without scanning untriggered zones of the P×N zones to generated cell signals.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
a switch circuit coupled to the touch panel; and a sensing circuit coupled to the switch circuit; in a coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorts the sensor cells in each zone of each column, and the sensing circuit scans P×N zones of the N columns to generate P×N zone signals; and in M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in a triggered zone of the P×N zones, and the sensing circuit scans a region of the triggered zone without scanning untriggered zones of the P×N zones to generate cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone. wherein: . A touch controller for controlling a touch panel, the touch panel comprising an array of sensor cells divided into N columns, each column comprising M regions, the M regions in each column being grouped into P zones, N and M being integers exceeding 1, P being a positive integer less than M+1, the touch controller comprising:
claim 1 . The touch controller of, wherein the coarse scan period and the M fine scan periods form a touch frame period.
claim 1 P=1, the M regions in each column are grouped into 1 zone; in the coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorts the sensor cells in each column, and the sensing circuit scans the N columns to generate N zone signals; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in M regions of a triggered zone of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scans the M regions of the triggered zone without scanning untriggered zones of the N columns to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the M regions of the triggered zone. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 3 in an m-th period of the M fine scan periods, the sensing circuit scans an m-th region of the M regions of the triggered zone to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the m-th region of the M regions of the triggered zone, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 3 the sensing circuit is further coupled to a processor; and in the coarse scan period, the processor identifies the triggered zone and the untriggered zones of the N columns according to the N zone signals. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 5 in the coarse scan period, the processor further identifies another triggered zone of the N columns according to the N zones signals; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit further decouples the sensor cells in M regions of the another triggered zone of the N columns and the sensing circuit further scans the M regions of the another triggered zone of the N columns to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the M regions of the another triggered zone. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 6 in an m-th period of the M fine scan periods, the sensing circuit scans an m-th region of the M regions of the triggered zone and an m-th region of the M regions of the another triggered zone to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the m-th region of the M regions of the triggered zone and the cell signals of the sensor cells in the m-th region of the M regions of the another triggered zone, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 1 1 P=M, each region in each column is grouped intozone; in the coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorts the sensor cells in each region of each column, and the sensing circuit scans M×N regions of the N columns to generate M×N zone signals; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in a triggered zone of the M×N regions without scanning untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 8 the triggered zone is in an m-th region of a column of the N columns, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M; and in an m-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in the m-th region of the column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scans the m-th region of the column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 8 the sensing circuit is further coupled to a processor; and in the coarse scan period, the processor identifies the triggered zone and the untriggered zones of the M×N regions according to the M×N zone signals. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 10 . The touch controller of, wherein in the M fine scan periods, the processor identifies a triggered cell in the triggered zone according to the cell signals.
claim 10 in the coarse scan period, the processor further identifies another triggered zone of the M×N regions according to the M×N zone signals; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit further decouples the sensor cells in the another triggered zone of the M×N regions, and the sensing circuit further scans the another triggered zone of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the another triggered zone. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 12 the triggered zone and the another triggered zone are respectively an (m1)-th region and an (m2)-th region of a column of the N columns, m1 and m2 being different integers ranging between 1 and M; in an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scans the (m1)-th region of the column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the column of the N columns; and in an (m2)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in the (m2)-th region of the column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scans the (m2)-th region of the column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m2)-th region of the column of the N columns. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 12 the triggered zone is an (m1)-th region of an (n1)-th column of the N columns, and the another triggered zone is an (m2)-th region of an (n2)-th column of the N columns, m1 and m2 being different integers ranging between 1 and M, n1 and n2 being different integers ranging between 1 and N; in an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scans the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns; and in an (m2)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in the (m2)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scans the (m2)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m2)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns. . The touch controller of, wherein:
claim 12 the triggered zone is an (m1)-th region of an (n1)-th column of the N columns, and the another triggered zone is an (m1)-th region of an (n2)-th column of the N columns, m1 being an integer ranging between 1 and M, n1 and n2 being different integers ranging between 1 and N; and in an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns and the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scans the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns and the (m1)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns and the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns. . The touch controller of, wherein:
in a coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorting the sensor cells in each zone of each column, and the sensing circuit scanning P×N zones of the N columns to generate P×N zone signals; and in M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in a triggered zone of the P×N zones, and the sensing circuit scanning a region of the triggered zone without scanning untriggered zones of the P×N zones to generate cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone. . A method for use in a touch controller to control a touch panel, the touch panel comprising an array of sensor cells divided into N columns, each column comprising M regions, the M regions in each column being grouped in to P zones, N and M being integers exceeding 1, P being a positive integer less than M+1, the touch controller comprising a switch circuit and a sensing circuit, the method comprising:
claim 16 . The method of, wherein the coarse scan period and the M fine scan periods form a touch frame period.
claim 16 P=1, the M regions in each column are grouped into 1 zone; in the coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorting the sensor cells in each column, and the sensing circuit scanning the N columns to generate N zone signals; and in the coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorting the sensor cells in each zone of each column, and the sensing circuit scanning the P×N zones of the N columns to generate the P×N zone signals comprises: in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in M regions of a triggered zone of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the M regions of the triggered zone without scanning untriggered zones of the N columns to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the M regions of the triggered zone. in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the triggered zone of the P×N zones, and the sensing circuit scanning the region of the triggered zone without scanning the untriggered zones of the P×N zones to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone comprises: . The method of, wherein:
claim 18 in an m-th period of the M fine scan periods, the sensing circuit scanning an m-th region of the M regions of the triggered zone to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the m-th region of the M regions of the triggered zone, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M. . The method of, wherein in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in M regions of the triggered zone of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the M regions of the triggered zone without scanning the untriggered zones of the N columns to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the M regions of the triggered zone comprises:
claim 18 in the coarse scan period, the processor identifying the triggered zone and the untriggered zones of the N columns according to the N zone signals. . The method of, wherein the sensing circuit is coupled to a processor, and the method further comprises:
claim 20 in the coarse scan period, the processor further identifying another triggered zone of the N columns according to the N zones signals; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit further decoupling the sensor cells in M regions of the another triggered zone of the N columns and the sensing circuit further scanning the another triggered zone of the N columns to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the M regions of the another triggered zone. . The method of, further comprises:
claim 21 in an m-th period of the M fine scan periods, the sensing circuit scanning an m-th region of the M regions of the triggered zone to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the m-th region of the M regions of the triggered zone, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the M regions of a triggered zone of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the M regions of the triggered zone without scanning the untriggered zones of the N columns to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the M regions of the triggered zone comprises: in the m-th period of the M fine scan periods, the sensing circuit scanning an m-th region of the M regions of the another triggered zone to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the m-th region of the M regions of the another triggered zone. in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit further decoupling the sensor cells in the M regions of the another triggered zone of the N columns and the sensing circuit further scanning the M regions of the another triggered zone of the N columns to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the M regions of the another triggered zone comprises: . The method of, wherein:
claim 16 P=M, each region in each column is grouped into 1 zone; in the coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorting the sensor cells in each region of each column, and the sensing circuit scanning M×N regions of the N columns to generate M×N zone signals; and in the coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorting the sensor cells in each zone of each column, and the sensing circuit scanning the P×N zones of the N columns to generate the P×N zone signals comprises: in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in a triggered zone of the M×N regions without scanning untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone. in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the triggered zone of the P×N zones, and the sensing circuit scanning the region of the triggered zone without scanning the untriggered zones of the P×N zones to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone comprises: . The method of, wherein:
claim 23 the triggered zone is in an m-th region of a column of the N columns, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M; and in an m-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the m-th region of the column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the m-th region of the column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions. in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the triggered zone of the M×N regions without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone comprises: . The method of, wherein:
claim 23 in the coarse scan period, the processor identifying the triggered zone and the untriggered zones of the M×N regions according to the M×N zone signals. . The method of, wherein the sensing circuit is further coupled to a processor, and the method further comprises:
claim 25 in the M fine scan periods, the processing identifying a triggered cell in the triggered zone according to the cell signals. . The method of, further comprising:
claim 25 in the coarse scan period, the processor identifying another triggered zone of the M×N regions according to the M×N zone signals; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the another triggered zone of the M×N regions, and the sensing circuit scanning the another triggered zone of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the another triggered zone. . The method of, further comprising:
claim 27 the triggered zone and the another triggered zone are respectively an (m1)-th region and an (m2)-th region of a column of the N columns, m1 and m2 being different integers ranging between 1 and M; in an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the (m1)-th region of the column of N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the column of the N columns; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the triggered zone of the M×N regions, and the sensing circuit scanning the triggered zone of the M×N regions without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone comprises: in an (m2)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the (m2)-th region of the column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the (m2)-th region of the column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m2)-th region of the column of the N columns. in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the another triggered zone of the M×N regions, and the sensing circuit scanning the another triggered zone of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the another triggered zone comprises: . The method of, wherein:
claim 27 the triggered zone is an (m1)-th region of an (n1)-th column of the N columns, and the another triggered zone is an (m2)-th region of an (n2)-th column of the N columns, m1 and m2 being different integers ranging between 1 and M, n1 and n2 being different integers ranging between 1 and N; in an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the triggered zone of the M×N regions, and the sensing circuit scanning the triggered zone of the M×N regions without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone comprises: in an (m2)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in the (m2)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scans the (m2)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m2)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns. in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the another triggered zone of the M×N regions, and the sensing circuit scanning the another triggered zone of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the another triggered zone comprises: . The method of, wherein:
claim 27 the triggered zone is an (m1)-th region of an (n1)-th column of the N columns, and the another triggered zone is an (m1)-th region of an (n2)-th column of the N columns, m1 being an integer ranging between 1 and M, n1 and n2 being different integers ranging between 1 and N; and in an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n1)-th column of the N columns; and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the triggered zone of the M×N regions, and the sensing circuit scanning the triggered zone of the M×N regions without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone comprises: in an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuit scanning the (m1)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns without scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the (m1)-th region of the (n2)-th column of the N columns. in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decoupling the sensor cells in the another triggered zone of the M×N regions, and the sensing circuit scanning the another triggered zone of the M×N regions to generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the another triggered zone comprises: . The method of, wherein:
Complete technical specification and implementation details from the patent document.
The invention is related to touch sensing techniques, especially related to a touch controller and a method for use in the touch controller for controlling a touch panel.
The evolving technology has led to the integration of touch panels in various electronic devices, enhancing their user interface. However, the larger the touch panel, the greater control effort is needed for the associated electronic components, leading to increased power consumption.
For example, a touch panel is usually made up of an array of sensor cells for detecting a user's touch. The touch panel scans all sensor cells to determine which of the sensor cells detects a touch event. Therefore, even if the touch event merely affect a small portion of sensor cells, the touch panel will not complete the detection until all sensor cells are scanned, resulting in unnecessary power consumption.
Therefore, there is a need for a touch controller and a method for use in the touch controller to reduce power wastage by the touch panel during touch events sensing.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a touch controller is used to control a touch panel. The touch panel includes an array of sensor cells divided into N columns, each column comprising M regions, the M regions in each column being grouped into P zones, N and M being integers exceeding 1, P being a positive integer less than M+1. The touch controller includes a switch circuit coupled to the touch panel and a sensing circuit coupled to the switch circuit. In a coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorts the sensor cells in each zone of each column, and the sensing circuit scans P×N zones of the N columns to generate P×N zone signals. In M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in a triggered zone of the P×N zones, and the sensing circuit scans a region of the triggered zone without scanning untriggered zones of the P×N zones to generate cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a method is used in a touch controller to control a touch panel. The touch panel includes an array of sensor cells divided into N columns, each column comprising M regions, the M regions in each column being grouped into P zones, N and M being integers exceeding 1, P being a positive integer less than M+1. The touch controller includes a switch circuit and a sensing circuit.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
Below, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings so as to be easily realized by a person having ordinary knowledge in the art. The inventive concept may be embodied in various forms without being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Descriptions of well-known parts are omitted for clarity, and like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
1 FIG. 1 100 300 200 1 300 400 400 300 300 100 110 120 110 110 300 110 300 110 300 120 120 300 400 200 100 120 400 200 100 depicts an electronic devicehaving a touch controller, a touch paneland a processor. The electronic devicemay be, but is not limited to, a display device. The touch panelmay be an in-cell touch panel and may include an array of sensor cells for detecting a touch event. The touch eventmay correspond to a finger touch on the touch panel, or a brush stroke by a stylus on the touch panel. The touch controllermay include a switch circuitand a sensing circuitcoupled to the switch circuit. The switch circuitmay be coupled to the touch panel. The switch circuitmay include switches, logical gates and/or multiplexers to manage connections of the sensor cells in the touch panel. During the touch detection, the switch circuitmay sequentially select sets of sensor cells of the touch panel, coupling the selected sets of sensor cells to the sensing circuit. The sensing circuitmay include analog front ends (AFEs) to scan the selected sets of sensor cells of the touch panelto detect the touch event. The processormay be coupled to the touch controllerfor processing signals detected by the sensing circuitin response to the touch event. In some embodiments, the processormay be disposed in the touch controller.
2 2 FIGS.A andB 300 324 300 322 120 122 322 122 322 320 324 320 324 depict arrangements of the touch panel. The array of sensor cellson the touch panelmay be divided into N columns, and the sensing circuitmay include N touch integrated circuits (IC), N being an integer exceeding 1. Each columnmay be controlled by a corresponding touch IC. Each columnmay include M regionsof sensor cellsM being an integer exceeding 1. Each regionmay be formed by i×j sensor cells, i and j being integers exceeding 1.
122 324 324 320 120 300 320 324 324 324 122 324 324 Each touch ICmay include multiple AFEs. In some embodiments, if the i×j sensor cellsare shorted (merged) together, one of the AFEs may simultaneously scan the i×j sensor cellsto identify a touch event associated with the region. In other words, the sensing circuitmay detect a touch event on the touch panelbased on the regions. In other embodiments, if the i×j sensor cellsare decoupled from each other, each AFE may scan an individual sensor cellto identify a touch event associated with each sensor cell. For example, if i=16, j=16, and the number of the AFEs in the touch ICis 64, the 64 AFEs may scan the 16×16 sensor cellin 4 passes, generating 64 results per pass, thus producing 256 results. The 256 results are used to identify one or more touch events associated with one or more sensor cells.
120 320 320 320 320 200 324 The sensing circuitmay perform two distinct scan operations: a coarse scan and a fine scan. The M regionsin each column may be grouped into P zones, P being a positive integer less than M+1. In some embodiments, P=1, and the M regionsin each column are grouped into 1 zone, leading to rapid detection of a touch event. In other embodiments, P=M, and each regionin each column forms an individual zone, resulting in more precise detection of a touch event. In other embodiments, 1<P<M, and the M regionsin each column are divided into multiple zones, providing a balance between speed and accuracy in touch detection. During the coarse scan, the processormay determine whether a touch event has taken place in a particular zone. If a touch event is detected, the AFEs may conduct a fine scan accordingly. During the fine scan, the AFEs may scan each sensor cellin the particular zone to determine the exact position of the touch event.
400 300 324 320 1 2 324 320 To determine the exact position of the touch eventon the touch panel, the AFEs may scan the sensor cellsin the regioneither column by column (as indicated by the direction A) or row by row (as indicated by the direction A). However, the sensor cellsin a regionmay also be scanned in any other preferred sequence to achieve the optimal efficiency.
400 110 324 322 120 110 324 120 320 324 The process of detecting the touch eventmay be described as follows. In a coarse scan period, the switch circuitmay short sensor cellsin each zone of each column, and the sensing circuitmay scan the P×N zones of the N columns to generate P×N zone signals; and in M fine scan periods subsequent to the coarse scan period, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin a triggered zone of the P×N zones, and the sensing circuitmay scan the region(s)of the triggered zone without scanning untriggered zones of the P×N zones to generate cell signals of the sensor cellsin the triggered zone.
3 FIG. 300 322 320 322 402 320 322 320 320 322 402 402 320 322 depicts an example where the touch panelis divided into 4 columns(i.e., N=4), and the M regionsin each columnare grouped into one zone (i.e., P=1). In this scenario, a touch frame periodmay include M fine scan periods and one coarse scan period. The M fine scan periods may be defined by the M regionson the column(i.e., T1 through TM), such that an mth regionof the M regionson a columnmay be finely scanned at a corresponding mth period during the M fine scan periods. The coarse scan period may be placed at the last period (TM+1) of the touch frame periods. The blocks marked with Column-Region numerals are placed under corresponding periods of the touch frame periodsto represent an mth regionin an nth columnbeing scanned during an mth period. Further, m is an integer between 1 and M, and n is an integer between 1 and N.
402 320 322 400 110 324 322 120 322 122 322 322 322 200 404 400 400 404 300 200 During the coarse scan period of a first touch frame period(e.g., TM+1 of Touch Frame 1), the coarse scan is performed on all regionsof the four columnsto detect the touch event. The switch circuitmay short the sensor cellsin each column, and the sensing circuitmay scan the four columnsto generate four zone signals. In the coarse scan, each touch ICmay have one AFE scanning a column, leading to a total of 4 AFEs, each scanning one of the 4 columnsrespectively. Each AFE may generate a zone signal to indicate whether a corresponding columnhas been touched. Based on the zone signals, the processormay identify a triggered zoneassociated with the touch event. In this embodiment, the touch eventis happened on the Region 1-ALL, the triggered zoneis identified as Column 1 of the touch panel. The processormay further identify one or more untriggered zones according to the four zone signals. In this embodiment, the processor may determine that Regions 2-ALL to 4-ALL are the untriggered zones accordingly.
402 400 300 110 324 404 120 404 324 320 120 404 324 404 122 322 122 324 404 324 404 324 200 300 400 300 120 During the M fine scan periods of a second touch frame period(e.g., T1 through TM of Touch Frame 2), the fine scan is performed on the triggered zone 1, one region at a period, so as to determine an exact position of the touch eventon the touch panel. The switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin the triggered zone, and the sensing circuitmay respectively scan Region 1-1 through Region 1-M of the triggered zonein the corresponding periods T1 through TM to generate cell signals for sensor cellsin each regionof Column 1. In an m-th period of the M fine scan periods, the sensing circuitmay scan Region 1-m of the triggered zoneto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin Region 1-m of the triggered zone, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M. In the fine scan, each touch ICmay have 64 AFEs scanning regions in a column. For example, if m=1, in the first period of the M fine scan periods, the 64 AFEs in the first touch ICmay scan the 256 sensor cellsin Region 1-1 of the triggered zonein 4 passes to generate 256 cell signals of the 256 sensor cellsin Region 1-1 of the triggered zone, each cell signal indicating whether a corresponding sensor cellhas been touched. Based on the cell signals, the processormay then identify an exact position on the touch panelthat the touch eventis contacted with. During the M fine scan periods, an untriggered zone on the touch panelmay refer to Column 2 through Column 4, and the sensing circuitwould not scan the untriggered zone, thereby saving power.
402 402 In other embodiments, the coarse scan period may also be placed at a first period of the touch frame period, such that the coarse scan period and the M fine scan periods would be placed in a same touch frame period. However, the order of the coarse scan period and the M fine scan periods is not meant to limit the present invention.
122 120 322 320 122 322 320 300 322 320 122 4 FIG. 5 FIG. 3 FIG. In some embodiments, one touch ICof the sensing circuitmay manage more than one columnof regions.depicts an example where each touch ICmanages two columnsof M regions.depicts an alternate example ofwhere the touch panelis divided into 8 columns, each columnof the regionsare grouped into one zone (i.e., P=1), and each touch ICis in charge of a left column (L) and a right column (R).
5 FIG. 122 322 120 322 322 402 400 320 404 122 122 324 320 324 122 324 320 324 200 300 400 In, each touch ICmay have 2 AFEs scanning a left column (L) and a right column (R) in the coarse scan, leading to a total of 8 AFEs, each scanning one of the 8 columnsrespectively. For example, the 8 AFEs in the sensing circuitmay respectively scan the 8 columns(including 4 left columns and 4 right columns), each generating a zone signal to indicate whether a corresponding columnhas been touched. Similarly, when the zone signals from the coarse scan period of the first touch frame period(e.g., TM+1 of Touch Frame 1) has determined the touch eventto be associated with only Column L of Column 1, the triggered zone 404 would be set as Region 1-L-1 through Region 1-L-M of Column 1, and the untriggered zones would be set as all regionsof Column R of Column 1 and Column L and Column R of Column 2 through Column 4. That is, only the triggered zonewould be scanned during the M fine scan periods of the second touch frame period (e.g., touch frame 2), and the untriggered zones would not be scanned to save power. In the fine scan, each touch ICmay have 32 AFEs scanning regions in a left column (L) and 32 AFEs scanning regions in a right column (R). For example, the 32 AFEs in the first touch ICmay, during each of the M fine scan periods, respectively scan the 256 sensor cellsin each regionof left column (L) in 4 passes to generate 256 cell signals, each cell signal indicating whether a corresponding sensor cellhas been touched. Similarly, the 32 AFEs in the first touch ICmay, during each of the M fine scan periods, respectively scan the 256 sensor cellsin each regionof right column (R) in 4 passes to generate 256 cell signals, each cell signal indicating whether a corresponding sensor cellhas been touched. Based on the resulted M×256 cell signals, the processormay then identify an exact position on the touch panelthat the touch eventis contacted with.
400 322 300 322 320 400 6 FIG. 3 FIG. In some embodiments, the touch eventmay occur in more than one columnon the touch panel.depicts an alternate example ofwhen each columnof the regionsare grouped into one zone (i.e., P=1), and Column 1 through Column 4 are all associated with the touch event.
6 FIG. 120 322 322 200 402 404 120 402 120 404 324 404 122 120 324 320 324 200 300 400 300 322 In, for example, the 4 AFEs in the sensing circuitmay respectively scan the 4 columns, each generating a zone signal to indicate whether a corresponding columnhas been touched. Similarly, the processormay identify the zone signals from the coarse scan period of the first touch frame period(e.g., TM+1 of Touch Frame 1) and determines that Column 1 through Column 4 should all be set as triggered zones. Therefore, Column 1 through Column 4 would be concurrently scanned by the sensing circuitduring the M fine scan periods in the second touch frame period(e.g., T1 through TM of Touch Frame 2). In an m-th period of the M fine scan periods, the sensing circuitmay scan Region 1-m of the triggered zoneto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin Region 1-m of the triggered zones, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M. For example, if m=1, in the first period of the M fine scan periods, the 64 AFEs of each touch ICin the sensing circuitmay, during each of the M fine scan periods, respectfully scan the 256 sensor cellsin each regionin 4 passes to generate 256 cell signals, each cell signal indicating whether a corresponding sensor cellhas been touched. Based on the resulted 4×M×256 cell signals, the processormay then identify exact positions on the touch panelthat the touch eventsare contacted with. Likewise, if the touch panelcontains other columnsaside from Column 1 through Column 4 that are determined to be untriggered zones, then the untriggered zones would not be scanned during the M fine scan periods to save power.
7 FIG.A 300 320 322 322 320 110 324 320 322 120 320 110 324 320 320 120 320 110 324 320 322 120 320 110 324 320 320 depicts an example where the touch panelis divided into 4 columns (i.e., N=4), each regionsin each columnis grouped into one zone (i.e., P=M), and each columnhas five regions(i.e., M=5). In the coarse scan period, the switch circuitmay short the sensor cellsin each regionof each column, and the sensing circuitmay scan M×N regionsof the N columns to generate M×N zone signals, and in the M fine scan periods, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin a triggered zone of the M×N regionswithout scanning untriggered zones of the M×N regionsto generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone. In some embodiments, in the coarse scan, M×N AFEs of the sensing circuitmay simultaneously scan the M×N regionsof the N columns to generate M×N zone signals. For example, if N=4, M=5, in the coarse scan period, the switch circuitmay short the sensor cellsin each regionof each column, and 20(=5×4) AFEs of the sensing circuitmay scan 20 regionsof the N columns to generate 20 zone signals, and in the 5 fine scan periods, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin a triggered zone of the 20 regionswithout scanning untriggered zones of the 20 regionsto generate the cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone
7 FIG.B 7 FIG.A 402 402 400 320 322 402 describes how scanning during touch frame periodsare configured based on arrangements of. In this scenario, a touch frame periodmay include 5 fine scan periods and one coarse scan period, and the touch eventrepresents a finger touch on a second region of Column 2 (hereinafter, Region 2-2). The 5 fine scan periods may be defined by the five regionson the columns(i.e., T1 through T5). The coarse scan period may be placed at the last period (i.e., T6) of the touch frame periods.
402 320 322 400 110 324 320 120 320 322 200 404 400 200 During the coarse scan period of a first touch frame period(e.g., T6 of touch frame 1), the coarse scan is performed on all regionsof the four columnsto detect the touch event. For example, the switch circuitmay short the sensor cellsin each region, and the 4 AFEs in the sensing circuitmay respectively scan the 5×4=20 regionsof the four columnsto generate 20 zone signals. Based on the 20 zone signals, the processormay identify Region 2-2 as the triggered zoneassociated with the touch event. The processormay further identify one or more untriggered zones according to the four zone signals. In the embodiment, the processor may determine that Regions 1-1 to 1-5, 2-1, 2-3 to 2-5, 3-1 to 3-5, and 4-1 to 4-5 are the untriggered zones.
404 120 404 324 404 402 400 110 324 404 120 324 202 324 324 200 324 300 320 120 The triggered zonemay be located in an m-th region of an n-th column of the N columns, n being an integer ranging between 1 and N, m being an integer ranging between 1 and M. Subsequently, in an m-th period of the M fine scan periods, the sensing circuitmay scan Region n-m of the triggered zoneto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin Region n-m of the triggered zone. During the 5 fine scan periods of a second touch frame period(e.g., T1 through T5 of Touch Frame 2), the fine scan is performed on the triggered zone 2-2 during a corresponding period T2, so as to determine an exact position of the touch eventon Region 2-2. For example, if n=2 and m=2, in the second period T2 of the 5 fine scan periods, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin the triggered zone, the 64 AFEs in the sensing circuitmay respectively scan the 256 sensor cellsin the triggered zonein 4 passes to generate 256 cell signals of the 256 sensor cellsin Region 2-2, each cell signal indicating whether a sensor cellhas been touched, and the processormay identify a triggered cell corresponding to the sensor cellbeing touched according to the cell signals. During the 5 fine scan periods, an untriggered zone on the touch panelmay refer to all regionsexcept Region 2-2, and the sensing circuitwould not scan the untriggered zone to save power.
8 FIG.A 7 FIG.A 8 8 FIGS.B andC 8 FIG.A 8 FIG.C 8 FIG.B 400 300 300 depicts an alternative example ofwhen the touch eventinvolves a sequence of finger movements on the touch paneltraversing through Region 2-2, Region 2-3,Region 3-2 and Region 3-3.show schematic diagrams of scanning the touch panelin Touch Frames 1 to 3, based on the circuit arrangements in. Touch Frame 3 fromfollows Touch Frame 2 fromin the sequence of time as depicted from B to B′.
300 200 404 20 320 300 402 200 320 404 As the finger moves across the touch panel, touching one or more regions, the processormay identify one or more triggered zonesfrom theregionson the touch panelduring a coarse scan. During the coarse scan period of the first touch frame period(e.g., T6 of Touch Frame 1), the processormay take the 20 zone signals from the 20 regionsto identify Region 2-2, Region 2-3, Region 3-2 and Region 3-3 as the triggered zonesand Regions 1-1 to 1-5, 2-1, 2-4 to 2-5, 3-1, 3-4 to 3-5, and 4-1 to 4-5 as the untriggered zones.
404 320 110 324 404 120 404 324 404 402 400 404 402 120 If multiple triggered zonesare identified from the 20 regions, in a fine scan subsequent to the coarse scan, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin the multiple triggered zones, and the sensing circuitmay scan the multiple triggered zonesto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin the multiple triggered zones. During the 5 fine scan periods of the second touch frame period(e.g., T1 through T5 of Touch Frame 2), the fine scan is performed on the triggered zone 2-2 and Region 3-2 during a corresponding period T2 and the triggered zone 2-3 and Region 3-3 during a corresponding period T3 respectively. Therefore, the exact moving route of the touch eventon the triggered zonesdetected during the first and second touch frame periodsmay be determined. The sensing circuitwould not scan the untriggered zones to save power.
404 320 322 404 404 320 320 322 322 110 324 320 322 322 120 320 322 322 320 324 320 322 322 110 324 320 322 322 120 320 322 322 320 324 320 322 322 404 404 322 322 110 324 322 120 324 110 324 322 120 324 8 FIG.B In some embodiments, the multiple triggered zonesmay be located in different regionsof a single column. That is, a first triggered zoneand a second triggered zonemay be respectively an (m1)-th regionand an (m2)-th regionof a columnof the N columns, m1 and m2 being different integers ranging between 1 and M. In an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuitdecouples the sensor cellsin the (m1)-th regionof the columnof the N columns, and the sensing circuitscans the (m1)-th regionof the columnof the N columnswithout scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regionsto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin the (m1)-th regionof the columnof the N columns. In an (m2)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuitdecouples the sensor cellsin the (m2)-th regionof the columnof the N columns, and the sensing circuitscans the (m2)-th regionof the columnof the N columnswithout scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regionsto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin the (m2)-th regionof the columnof the N columns. Referring to, if N=4, M=5, m1=2, m2=3, a first triggered zoneand a second triggered zonemay be respectively Region 2-2 and Region 2-3 of the second columnof the 4 columns. In the fine scan period T2 of the 5 fine scan periods, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin Region 2-2 of the 2nd column of the 4 columns, and the sensing circuitmay scans Region 2-2 without scanning the untriggered zones to generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin Region 2-2. In the fine scan period T3 of the 5 fine scan periods, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin Region 2-3 of the 2nd column of the 4 columns, and the sensing circuitmay scan Region 2-3 without scanning the untriggered zones to generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin Region 2-3.
404 320 322 404 320 322 404 320 322 110 324 320 322 120 320 322 320 324 320 322 110 324 320 322 120 320 322 320 324 320 322 404 322 322 404 322 322 110 324 322 120 322 324 322 110 324 322 120 322 324 322 8 FIG.B In some embodiments, the multiple triggered zonesmay be located in different regionsof different columns. That is, a first triggered zoneis an (m1)-th regionof an (n1)-th column of the N columns, and a second triggered zoneis an (m2)-th regionof an (n2)-th column of the N columns, m1 and m2 being different integers ranging between 1 and M, n1 and n2 being different integers ranging between 1 and N. In an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuitdecouples the sensor cellsin the (m1)-th regionof the (n1)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuitscans the (m1)-th regionof the (n1)-th column of the N columnswithout scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regionsto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin the (m1)-th regionof the (n1)-th column of the N columns. In an (m2)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuitdecouples the sensor cellsin the (m2)-th regionof the (n2)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuitscans the (m2)-th regionof the (n2)-th column of the N columnswithout scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regionsto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin the (m2)-th regionof the (n2)-th column of the N columns. Referring to, if N=4, M=5, n1=2, n2=3, m1=2, m2=3, the first triggered zonemay be Region 2-2 of the 2nd columnof the 4 columns, and the second triggered zonemay be Region 3-3 of the 3rd columnof the 4 columns. In the fine scan period T2 of the 5 fine scan periods, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin Region 2-2 of the 2nd column of the 4 columns, and the sensing circuitmay scan Region 2-2 of the 2nd column of the 4 columnswithout scanning the untriggered zones to generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin Region 2-2 of the 2nd column of the 4 columns. In the fine scan period T3 of the 5 fine scan periods, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin Region 3-3 of the 3rd column of the 4 columns, and the sensing circuitmay scan Region 3-3 of the 3rd column of the 4 columnswithout scanning the untriggered zones to generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin Region 3-3 of the 3rd column of the 4 columns.
404 320 322 404 320 322 404 320 322 110 324 320 322 324 320 322 120 320 322 320 322 320 324 320 322 324 320 322 404 322 322 404 322 322 110 324 120 324 8 FIG.B In some embodiments, the multiple triggered zonesmay be located in corresponding regionsof different columns. That is, a first triggered zoneis an (m1)-th regionof an (n1)-th column of the N columns, and a second triggered zoneis an (m1)-th regionof an (n2)-th column of the N columns, m1 being an integer ranging between 1 and M, n1 and n2 being different integers ranging between 1 and N. In an (m1)-th fine scan period of the M fine scan periods, the switch circuitdecouples the sensor cellsin the (m1)-th regionof the (n1)-th column of the N columnsand the sensor cellsin the (m1)-th regionof the (n2)-th column of the N columns, and the sensing circuitscans the (m1)-th regionof the (n1)-th column of the N columnsand the (m1)-th regionof the (n2)-th column of the N columnswithout scanning the untriggered zones of the M×N regionsto generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin the (m1)-th regionof the (n1)-th column of the N columnsand the cell signals of the sensor cellsin the (m1)-th regionof the (n2)-th column of the N columns. Referring to, if N=4, M=5, n1=2, n2=3, m1=2, the first triggered zonemay be Region 2-2 of the 2nd columnof the 4 columns, and the second triggered zonemay be Region 3-2 of the 3rd columnof the 4 columns. In the fine scan period T2 of the 5 fine scan periods, the switch circuitmay decouple the sensor cellsin Region 2-2 and Region 3-2, and the sensing circuitmay scan Region 2-2 and Region 3-2 without scanning the untriggered zones to generate the cell signals of the sensor cellsin Region 2-2 and Region 3-2.
402 200 320 400 200 404 During the coarse scan period of the second touch frame period(e.g., T6 of Touch Frame 2), the processormay further take a further 20 zone signals from the 20 regionsand discover the touch eventto include the finger movement ending on Region 3-3. Therefore, the processormay identify Region 3-3 to be a further triggered zone.
402 300 320 120 During the 5 fine scan periods of the third touch frame period(e.g., T1 through T5 of Touch Frame 3), the fine scan is performed on the triggered Region 3-3 during a corresponding period T3. Therefore, the exact position where the finger movement ends on the Region 3-3 may be determined. Similarly, a further untriggered zone on the touch panelduring Touch Frame 3 may refer to all regionsexcept Region 3-3, and the sensing circuitwould not scan the untriggered zone to save power.
9 FIG.A 7 FIG.A 9 FIG.B 9 FIG.A 400 300 402 depicts an alternative example ofwhen the touch eventincludes two fingers concurrently pressing on the touch panel. One finger is pressed on Region 2-2, and the other finger is pressed on both Region 1-3 and Region 1-4.describe how scanning during touch frame periodsare configured based on arrangements of.
9 FIG.B 7 FIG.B 402 400 404 402 404 320 300 In, similar to, when the 20 zone signals from the coarse scan period of the first touch frame period(e.g., T6 of Touch Frame 1) determined the touch eventto be associated with Region 1-3 and Region 1-4 of Column 1 and Region 2-2 of Column 2, the triggered zonewould be set as Region 1-3, Region 1-4, and Region 2-2. Therefore, the 5 fine scan periods of the second touch frame period(e.g., T1 through T5 of Touch Frame 2) will see Region 2-2, Region 1-3, and Region 1-4 to be scanned respectively during the corresponding periods T2, T3 and T4 to generate the cell signals of the triggered zones. Moreover, the untriggered zones during the 5 fine scan periods would be set as all regionsof the touch panelexcept Region 2-2, Region 1-3, and Region 1-4, and the untriggered zones would not be scanned to save power.
10 FIG. 100 300 400 1 4 1 4 1 S: in a coarse scan period, the switch circuit shorts the sensor cells in each zone of each column, and the sensing circuit scans P×N zones of the N columns to generate P×N zone signals; 2 S: in the coarse scan period, the processor identifies a triggered zone according to the P×N zone signals; 3 S: in M fine scan periods, the switch circuit decouples the sensor cells in a triggered zone of the P×N zones, and the sensing circuit scans a region of the triggered zone without scanning untriggered zones of the P×N zones to generate cell signals of the sensor cells in the triggered zone; and 4 S: in the M fine scan periods, the processor identifies a position of a touch event according to the cell signals. is a schematic flow chart of a method for use in the touch controllerto control the touch panel. The methodincludes Steps Sto S. Any reasonable step change or adjustment is within the scope of the present disclosure. Steps Sto Sare detailed as follows:
The touch controller and the method for use in the touch controller configures a rough scan period to identify a triggered zone on the touch panel and a fine scan period to finely scan the sensor cells of the triggered zone to identify an exact position of the touch event on the touch panel, without scanning the sensor cells of the untriggered zones on the touch panel. Therefore, power consumed by the electronic devices having the touch panel would only spend on sensor cells associated with the touch event, thus power efficiency for controlling a touch panel is improved.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
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November 27, 2024
May 28, 2026
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